During the pyrometallurgical treatment (for instance, smelting or converting) of metal ores or metal concentrates, fluxing agents are often used to assist in the removal of unwanted contaminants from the metal or matte produced. In some smelting and converting systems (such as nickel smelting or converting) fluxing agents, such as silica, are used to produce an iron silicate slag.
A drawback with the use of silica as a fluxing agent is that the silicate slag formed in the furnace or crucible, may not have the correct physical and chemical properties (such as low viscosity, high solubility of impurities, low solubility of valuable metals) under certain conditions. This results in the loss of valuable metal to the slag, the inclusion of impurities in the metal or matte, or a combination of the two.
Thus, there would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a fluxing composition that assisted in the production of a metallurgically stable slag with a combination of physical and chemical properties that benefits the metallurgical performance of the process.
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